The present invention concerns a novel process and system for controlling the recharging of a water conditioner. The water conditioner may be a water softener, a water filter or any other item used for conditioning or treating water. The recharging may include the recharging of an ion exchange resin for the water softener, the backwashing of a filter, or any other reconstituting of an element used in the conditioning of water.
In the use of household water softeners, it is desirable to recharge or regenerate the ion exchange bed at a time during which the water is not being used in the household. Often a clock is used in connection with the recharging system and the clock is manually preset for a time of day that is generally a low water usage period, such as 2:00 a.m.
If a single flow water usage period during a day is selected, such as 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., the water softening unit will have to have a 24-hour reserve capacity because recharging will occur only once a day. Additionally, although the installer of the water softener may have set the clock for 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., this time may not reflect an accurate time during which water is not being used in certain households. Adjustment by persons in the household may be necessary.
Using the aforesaid clock system, a power outage will cause the time period to be erroneous. For example, if the clock is set for 2:00 a.m. recharging, a 5-hour power outage may cause recharging to occur when the family in the household has awakened and is using a maximum amount of water.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process and system for controlling the recharging of a water conditioner, which does not require a manual clock setting but is instead automatically programmable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and process for controlling the recharging of a water conditioner, in which a recharging time period is automatically determined based on historical information regarding non-water usage.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent as the description proceeds.